AltWeeklies Wire » Movies+TV » Reviews

Wife Story

By Scott Renshaw
Salt Lake City Weekly | April 19, 2005
Just when you thought the mock-doc format had been played out by Christopher Guest, along comes this savvy satire from Andrew Gurland and Huck Botko. “Documentary filmmaker” Gurland--co-director of the notoriously shelved “was it staged or was it real” Sundance ’98 doc Frat House--follows surly, pudgy New Yorker Andrew (Andrew Martinez) as he finds a Burmese bride through a matchmaking catalog. But the relationship between Andrew and Lichi (Eugenia Yuan) takes unexpected turns, as Gurland himself becomes part of a romantic triangle. The script hits nearly every target it aims for, from Andrew claiming he wants a hookup “without all the bull----” yet describing his doorman job to Lichi as “security and property management,” to an unflinchingly funny look at American cultural condescension. Yet it may be smartest as a stab at “objective” documentary filmmaking itself, and the way filmmakers inevitably become part of the story--which could make it Gurland’s definitive statement on the Frat House controversy. Though the third act goes a bit astray as it heads towards a promising but out-of-place “gotcha,” Mail Order Wife exposes plenty of harsh realities, even if it’s all actually fake.
Tags: Andrew Gurland and Huck Botko, Mail Order Wife

Salt Lake City Weekly

Having carved a large niche of young, affluent, and educated Utahns, Salt Lake City Weekly is regarded as a welcome, independent voice in an area that truly needs one. More than 1,600 outlets distribute Salt Lake City Weekly in the...
More »
Contact for Reprint Rights
  • Market Served: Metropolitan Area
  • Address: 248 South Main, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
  • Phone: (801) 575-7003
www.cityweekly.net